


The Red Bull Chronicles 2: Post Monaco Blues

by redbullf1angel



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-26
Updated: 2014-03-26
Packaged: 2018-01-17 01:32:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1369003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redbullf1angel/pseuds/redbullf1angel





	The Red Bull Chronicles 2: Post Monaco Blues

Author’s note:

Set the Monday after Mark’s win in Monaco.

-

Monday evening saw Mark finally back home in England. As he hauled his bags from his Porsche 911, the front door to his home opened and he was almost immediately set upon by his two dogs, Simba and Shadow. He put his bags down and greeted his two boys.

“Hiya – got you all the points I promised you both,” he told them. In response, they boisterously barked, jumped up all over him and licked him in welcome. Despite knowing what they were like, they still managed to push him back so he was sitting on the ground with them excitedly bounding all over him. “Come on, guys!” he said laughing. “At least let me get inside!”

He heard Ann laughing and looked up to see her leaning against the doorframe, arms folded, watching the attack with great amusement.

“Hey, seeing as they’re your dogs, I would have thought you’d have some sort of control over them!” she called out to him.

“Chance would be a fine thing! Simba! Shadow! Down! Come on!”

The dogs reluctantly stood back before Mark, tails still wagging furiously, delighted to see their master home at long last. Mark clambered to his feet, picked up his bags, and with the dogs following animatedly behind him, he walked over to Ann and gave her a peck on the cheek in welcome.

She hugged him tightly in return. “Well done. So proud of you.”

“Thanks. Two good races. The team did well.”

“You did well,” she insisted. She stood back and eyed him carefully. “You all right?”

Mark didn’t answer her.

“Supper on or did you want to go out to the pub tonight?”

“Figured you’d just want to stay home after the weekend and then a day’s PR,” she said.

He kissed her forehead. “Ah, you know me too well. Thanks, luv. I’ll just get these bags sorted.”

She stepped aside and let him in, watching him closely as he trudged up the stairs with the dogs trailing behind him, and she just knew that something wasn’t quite right.

Their meal was a rather subdued affair, with the conversation mainly small talk about the race weekends and what had been going on with her at home. Ann could sense Mark had something on his mind, and even the dogs seemed to feel that all was not well, as they stuck closely by his side. After they’d eaten, Mark went to clear the table but Ann shooed him into the living room with a bottle of his favourite red wines and a glass, telling him to go and relax – he deserved it.

He did as ordered knowing better than to argue with her. Shadow was content to lay at his feet, but Simba, as always wanting more attention after he’d been away for a while, curled up on the sofa with his head resting on Mark’s lap. Mark gently stroked his dog as he enjoyed his glass of wine. He was glad to be home. Back to back races weren’t something any driver enjoyed, swapping one hotel in one country straight for another, living out of a suitcase, but the glitz and glamour of Monaco was just something else and that world just wasn’t him, though this time it had been worth it all considering the end result! And he’d certainly enjoyed the Red Bull celebration party on Sunday night more than the royal gala dinner, where he’d sat at the top table with the Monaco Royals, thanks to his fantastic win. Mind you, the ear-bashing he’d got from Sir Jackie Stewart for turning up there in only smart jeans and a sweater wasn’t something he would remember with any fondness, though even the legendary three times world champion hadn’t been able to chastise him for long, preferring to congratulate him on a stunning Monaco victory following straight on from a dominate win in Spain. Now that was something he would fondly remember!

The Red Bull party had been in full swing by the time Christian, Seb and himself had been able to leave the gala and return to the energy station. With the alcohol flowing freely and everyone determined to celebrate and enjoy themselves, the party had turned out to have been one of the most liveliest ones he’d been to. Not that the team ever needed much encouragement to party but they had to make up for the fact that after his win in Spain they hadn’t had much time to celebrate, as they’d had to pack everything up in preparation for the dash across from there to Monaco to be ready for first practice on the Thursday. And the team had certainly made up in Monaco for missing out on a full blown Red Bull part,y in Spain! No, he hadn’t drunk that much and somehow he’d avoided being thrown into the pool on the top deck again (unlike most!), but to see the whole team celebrate, knowing that it was down to his consecutive wins, had given him such a warm euphoric feeling that he knew that no amount of alcohol could ever duplicate it and it was something he would cherish and would never, ever forget.

He reflected on just how fortunate he was now to be in the position of leading the driver’s title fight. It was all a far cry from his early days in the UK with Ann and Luke, her young son and his virtual stepson. From the moment he’d left Australian soil for the first time, he’d been chronically homesick, missing his family dreadfully, and although Ann had secured sponsorship with the Australian Yellow Pages for him, the money had been nowhere near enough for him to fund his racing and for them all to live on. Both him and Ann had had to pick up work where they could to make ends meet but even that had not been enough and they’d been on the verge of having no choice but to give it all up and return home to Australia, when a massive £ 50,000 loan from family friend and Australian rugby union legend David Campese had saved his racing career. He’d been able to complete the Formula Three season, and after a successful test, he’d managed to secure his first paid driving contract – racing sports cars for Mercedes. But even though there had been success on track, it certainly hadn’t been without its dramas. In his second season with them, disaster had struck for him at Le Mans when not once, but twice the car he was driving had flipped and became airbourne thanks to an aerodynamic fault. He’d been so fortunate to have been able to walk away from the accidents both times though Mercedes had had no choice but to withdraw their cars. Although Mark had wanted so much to win at Le Mans – and still did – his confidence in Mercedes had been shaken, and he had turned back to his first love of single-seaters.

Driving for Paul Stoddard’s Formula 3000 team had led to more on track success, and his first taste of F1 cars when he tested first for Arrows and then Benetton. And when Paul had moved up to F1 himself when he’d bought the ailing Minardi team, Mark had managed to get a three race contract. He couldn’t help but smile with pleasure as he remembered his F1 debut at his home race in Australia back in 2002. A spectacular accident between Ralf Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello at the start had caused no less than eight cars to retire and critics had said that it was only because of that that Mark had managed to secure fifth place and score points, a rare feat for a rookie. But he’d had his own problems during the race – the launch control at the start hadn’t worked properly, he had battled through most of the race with a broken differential, and then he’d had to fend off the more experienced Mika Salo in the far faster Toyota in the closing laps of the race. It had been thanks to his stunning fifth place with a memorable podium celebration all of their own much to the delight of the Aussie fans, that his three race contract with Minardi had been extended to the whole season thanks to more sponsorship flooding into the struggling team. It might have been regarded as a fluke by many, but during the rest of that season Mark had continued to surpass expectations, consistently out-qualifying team mate Alex Yoong, and racing much higher up the field than many had thought his car should allow.

He had moved to Jaguar the following year, and just like at Minardi, Mark had continued to punch above his weight there. In his first season with them, the car had not been overly competitive in race trim, but he’d still been able to regularly push it into a top ten grid slot, which had included two third places in Brazil and Hungary. He’d also scored all but one of the team’s points that season, but his second year had seen a downturn in the team’s performance and he’d only managed to score seven points all season. So when the chance of joining a proven multiple championship winning team came up he chose a move to Williams rather than Renault. That had proved to have been a huge mistake – his close friend Fernando Alonso had won the driver’s title there that year and Williams had been nowhere. At the end of a second disastrous season at Williams, Mark had jumped ship to return Milton Keynes – but the team was no longer Jaguar but Red Bull. He’d been lured back by the prospect of driving a car designed by the most successful designer in modern F1 – a certain Adrian Newey. Red Bull had stunned the F1 world by poaching the top designer away from McLaren, and although it had taken a couple of seasons for Adrian to fully make his mark on the team which hadn’t been helped by massive rule changes that had occurred for the 2009 season, last year’s RB5 had seen the team emerge from being regarded as just a publicity gimmick for the energy drinks firm to being a championship contending team.

And last year he’d also finally scored his maiden win in F1 at the Nürburgring – though true to form he hadn’t done it the easy way! Yes, he’d secured pole, but after a clash with Brawn GP’s Rubens Barrichello he’d been declared by the stewards as the one to blame and had been punished with a drive through penalty. Thanks to that and after a pit stop, he’d ended up back in eighth, but thanks to calming words and assurances that a win was still on the cards from his race engineer, Cairon Pilbeam, he’d driven the race of his life and had come back with a stunning drive to win!

After all the struggles when he’d first arrived in the UK, followed by the ups and downs of his early F1 career, he was finally reaping the rewards for his perseverance, driving for a team he loved with a dream of a car to drive in which he’d now won back to back races and was leading the driver’s title chase. So professionally, his life was definitely on the up and up… and now there was a faint glimmer of hope of some happiness in his private life as well with a certain Sebastian Vettel. Mark had felt a flicker of attraction towards the young German ever since he’d caught sight of him in the F1 paddock for the first time when the youngster had turned up as the third driver for BMW Sauber back in 2006. Their paths had crossed from time to time after Seb had joined Torro Rosso, being Red Bull’s junior team, but Mark, believing that they’d never be reciprocated, had learnt to keep his true feelings for him under wraps, even more so when it had been announced that Seb would be joining him at Red Bull from last season. At first Mark had tried to keep the youngster at arm’s length, reasoning to himself that they couldn’t be friends as they were team mates and thus the fiercest of rivals, but Seb, with his cheerful nature and his unquenchable thirst for knowledge when it came to F1, had quickly become a good team mate and Mark, with his strong desire to help and mentor any young driver, hadn’t been able to stop himself from taking the him under his wing, and consequently becoming a friend.

But the Aussie still couldn’t believe what had happened in Monaco – never in a million years would he have thought that Seb would have made a move on him. Never. But yet he had, and those sweet, sweet kisses they had shared had only served to strengthen the infatuation Mark felt towards him. He didn’t know how on earth he had managed to stop the kisses from progressing further when all he had truly wanted to do was to take Seb in his arms and make tender love to him, to finally give vent to feelings he’d kept so well-hidden for far too long. But there were warning voices in his head and Mark just couldn’t ignore them. A past love was to blame for that, having left him an emotional mess and consequently, weary of opening his heart up again, let alone to another, fellow F1 driver. Maybe Seb was just experimenting, playing the field, now he was young, free and single after his off-season break-up from his high school sweet-heart, Hannah. Maybe he was just bucking against the expected norm, like some teenager rebelling against his parents as after all, Seb was Red Bull’s golden boy, the most successful driver to come out of their own young driver development programme.

Mark so desperately wanted to ignore all those voices and all the others, but there was just one he just couldn’t bring himself to shut out - the one that kept coming through loud and clear and was the one that reminded him how much he just wanted to be with Seb, despite everything. The Monaco kisses had strengthen it, making it now impossible for him to ignore any more, and wasn’t that just stupid and sappy, like out of a goddamn Mills & Boon romance novel!

Mark sighed heavily in despair at his feelings, and reached out for the bottle of wine and re-filled his glass just as Ann came in from the kitchen. When she saw him unusually helping himself yet another full glass of wine, she became even more concerned about him, and knew that she had to get him to open up to her about what on earth was bothering him. So she settled down on the sofa next to him on the other side from Simba with her own glass of wine.

“So come on, what’s up?”

Mark raised an eyebrow at her.

“Oh, come on! For someone who has won two races on the bounce, one of them one of the F1 biggies, and who is now leading the title race, you don’t exactly seem very happy about life right now.”

He shrugged his shoulders, and took a sip of his wine, trying his best to ignore Ann’s gentle probing.

“Well, after the last two races it’s certainly not your racing. You said Dietrich and Christian are already making more than just noises about picking up the option on your contract for next season…”

“It’s nothing,” he insisted.

She wasn’t to be put off for she knew him too well to let him stew like this, knowing it wouldn’t do him any good to dwell on whatever was up. She poked him lightly in the ribs. “Come on, spill the beans – I’m all ears.”

Mark sighed, knowing that she wouldn’t relent. Besides which he knew that if he didn’t talk this through, he’d spend yet another night tossing and turning in bed, checking his phone for any contact from Seb.

“Ann, there’s something wrong with me.”

“Well, I know that! I’ve lived with you for long enough!” she laughed but soon sobered as Mark didn’t smile back, her concern for him growing by the second. “Mark?”

“I’m serious. I don’t know what’s going on with me. I can’t stop thinking about – ” He bit his lip, his courage failing him, feeling that he was just being so stupid.

“About what? What’s the matter, luv?”

Forcing himself to go on Mark said, “About Seb. Sebastian Vettel.”

“Oh! Well, that’s certainly no surprise!”

Mark raised his eyebrows at her. Had he really been that obvious about his feelings for his team mate?

“Well, he’s got to be the most competitive team mate you’ve ever had,” she reasoned. “He’s a very talented young driver. I reckon you’ll both be fighting again for the title this season.”

“That’s not what I mean,” Mark admitted quietly with a sigh.

Ann looked at him and suddenly the bombshell dropped. “Oh!” She took a sip of wine. “Well, I can’t say I blame you – young sexy, blond, blue-eyed German… Wouldn’t say no to him as toy boy for myself!” The joking comment didn’t raise even the briefest of smiles from Mark, who still sat, staring at the glass in his hand, swilling the wine around.

She studied him carefully. “There’s something else you’re not telling me.”

Mark looked at her. “Can’t ever hide much from you!” he said, raising his glass in salute in her direction before drinking.

“So?” she prompted.

Mark took a breath and plunged straight in at the deep end. “He kissed me.”

Ann opened her mouth in stunned amazement. “But he was with Hannah until during the winter!”

“And the whole world and his wife think you and me are a committed couple. Appearances aren’t everything! We’re a prime example!” he pointed out.

“Okay, okay. So?”

“So what?”

“Details! You can’t just say ‘he kissed me’ and leave a girl hanging!” Ann protested.

Mark grinned, recalling the precious moments with Seb back in Monaco. “Well, after we leapt off the top of the energy station into the harbour – ”

“Yes, don’t remind me! I was in the pub watching the coverage and saw your jump and then Seb dragging you out!” she exclaimed. “You trying to give me heart failure, mister!”

Mark smirked. “Yeah, well, race suits are a bit heavy when soaked in water. And don’t worry - we had the lecture from Christian!”

“Good!”

“Anyway, when we went to change, he actually kissed me, I sort of froze with shock, then we talked and then we kissed some more.”

“And?” she prompted again.

Mark shrugged. “Nothing.”

“Nothing?!”

“Nothing,” he re-affirmed. “When we talked, I told him he really needed to take time and think seriously about all the implications of us having a relationship. I haven’t heard from him since. Sort of hoped he’d come to my hotel room Sunday night… But no. Think I frightened him off.”

Ann put her glass down and sat back on the sofa next to him. “You told him to take some time, luv,” she said rubbing his arm in a gesture of support.

“Yeah,” he said, giving her a weak smile. “Just me being impatient as always.”

She eyed him carefully. “Oh, Mark,” she sighed. “You really have fallen for him, haven’t you?”

He didn’t say anything, didn’t have to – Ann had this knack of being so perceptive with him, always being able to read him like a book. He sat his half-drunk glass of wine down on the coffee table before them and sat back heavily on the sofa. He hadn’t let himself get like this over another man in ages, well not since… He forcefully stopped himself from going there, praying he could stop the nightmare memories from flooding his mind.

“I never seem to do things the easy way, do I?” he moaned, tenderly stroking Simba’s head.  

“Best things in life are never easy to achieve – making it into F1 and then finally a top team must have shown you that,” she pointed out. “You never gave up, never lost hope and you’ve got there in the end. Look at you now – you’re driving better than ever, just won two races on the trot for the first time in F1, and you’re now leading the driver’s title fight.”

“I’ve tried to ignore it, this attraction but…” His voice trailed off, not even able to find the right words to explain it in his head, let alone out loud to Ann.

“And it’s not easy when he’s just the other side of the garage?” she suggested.

“You said it.” He sighed heavily. “Strewth, of all the daft things I’ve ever done this has to top ‘em all – falling hook, line and stinker for my team mate after just a few kisses!”

“Can’t help who we fall for, luv,” she sympathised. “I haven’t seen you like this since – ”

“Don’t!” Mark interrupted. “Please don’t!” he begged.

Ann kept quiet, not wanting to drag up painful memories for Mark by mentioning the name. She still could remember all too vividly coming back home from a shopping trip into London to find Mark, curled up in his bed, sobbing his heart out. When he’d finally managed to pull himself together enough to tell her, she’d been stunned and heartbroken for him – on a surprise visit, he’d caught his “soul mate” in bed with a woman. Ann had wanted to go out and cause grievous bodily harm to the culprit at the very least for causing her Mark such emotional pain, and even now, years later, Ann couldn’t even bring herself to be civil to him when she saw him in the F1 paddock. Just how Mark managed to cope seeing him around at every race weekend was totally beyond her comprehension.

“You’re just like Luke,” she told Mark, changing tact. “Like some love sick teenager,” Ann finished with a grin.

“No, mate!” he protested, hoping that he sounded more convincing than he felt.

“Yes, mate!” she insisted, wagging a finger at him. “So?”

“So what?”

“So what are you going to do?”

Mark shrugged his shoulders. “Wait for him to make a decision, I suppose. Not a lot else I can do, is there? I don’t want to pressurise him into something he might regret later.”

“But you don’t want him to think you don’t want him?”

“You said it.”

Ann studied him carefully. “There’s something else, though.”

“Can’t help thinking I could be some kind of re-bound fling after Hannah,” he admitted sadly.

“And you want something more than just a roll in the hay?”

Mark nodded. “The odd fling isn’t enough anymore,” he confessed, and then added with a watery smile, “I’m so lonely, Annie.”

Her heart broke at hearing him say such a thing. She hated seeing him like this – so down and vulnerable – and she hated the world in which they lived which made him have to hide his true sexuality, making it so near damn impossible for him to find the real comfort he needed, knowing that there was only so much she could offer him. And she knew that despite the deep affection they held for each other, at times, that was never enough… for either of them.

“Well, they were together for a long time, and it’s a massive leap from that into a relationship with a man, let alone one who’s his team mate and thus fiercest rival. Knowing you, you would have laid all your cards on the table to him, with all the pros and cons. You certainly would have given him a lot to think about. He’ll come and find you when he’s ready. You just need to give him some time,” Ann reasoned. She looked at him closely. “You’re scared as well, aren’t you?”

Mark didn’t bother answering her – it wasn’t a question requiring a yes or no answer, more a statement of fact.

She reached out, took hold of his hand and lightly squeezed it in support.

“Hey, not everyone’s like him,” she insisted softly. “Not everyone’s a user, not everyone cheats.”

Mark gulped and closed his eyes, trying desperately to close his mind to such painful memories. Even after all this time, it still hurt him so much to think about what had happened – he had thought that they were so in love, that once they had the racing bug out of their systems, they would come out and live as a proper couple… but in the end, he’d just been so gullible, and had thus had been so ultimately used…

“You can’t stop yourself from falling in love but you deserve to find that someone special to share your life with,” she said with heart-felt sincerity. “And I so want that for you.”

He opened his eyes and smiled warmly at her. “Thought that person was you.”

“You know what I mean,” she said, nudging her shoulder against his. “I know it’s not easy for you, but please don’t lock yourself away.”

“Yeah, I know. But hey, it goes both ways!” he insisted.

She winked at him. “Oh, I’m working on it!”

“Oh yeah?” he said curiously.

“Hey, this is about you, not me!”

Mark relented, knowing that she’d share when she was ready.

“And if Seb does decide no, then he’s a fool to let you slip through his fingers and he doesn’t deserve you!” Ann stated firmly, but then added with a mischievous grin, “And if that is the case, I’ll set you up with a profile on some internet gay dating site – Aussie rugged hunk with excellent career prospects, loves fast cars and outdoor sports…”

Mark laughed heartily.

“That’s better!”

He grinned and pulled her into a hug. “Thanks, Annie.”

“Hey, we’re a mutual support society, you and me!” she reminded him.

“Yeah, that we are,” he agreed.

She kissed his forehead. “And don’t you ever forget it! I’ll always be here for you.”

“And me for you,” he promised.

Ann pulled back and grinned at him. “Just let me know if I need to make myself scarce at any time.”

Mark looked puzzled. “Why?”

“Wouldn’t want to want walk in on two hot bulls together!” she joked.

Mark groaned but laughed with her. Trust her to raise his spirits.


End file.
